The Best of Friends

by Susan Mallery

  “We’ll see about that.”

  “No, we won’t. If you do anything or say anything to turn Jayne away from me, if you make trouble of any kind, I will turn my back on you forever.”

  She sucked in a breath as the color faded from her face. “You’re not choosing that opportunistic little whore over me. I forbid it.”

  “You don’t get a vote. Don’t push me. I’ll push back, and you’ll be the one with regrets.”

  She stared at him for a long time before reaching for her purse, then sweeping out of his office. David watched her go.

  This was going to end badly. He could feel it. One way or the other, someone was going to get hurt. His job was to make sure it wasn’t Jayne.

  Jayne knocked on the hotel room door, telling herself not to be nervous. So what if David was waiting for her? They were going to have dinner, then sex. No big deal. Except there was something vaguely illicit about going to a man’s hotel room.

  The door opened.

  “What?” David asked. “You look funny.”

  “A compliment to make me all fluttery inside.”

  He smiled, then pulled her close and kissed her. “You look like you’re worried about something.”

  She kissed him back, enjoying the immediate heat that flared between them and the liquid desire that took up residence in the most interesting places.

  “I was thinking I don’t go to many men’s hotel rooms.”

  “No moonlighting as a call girl?”

  “I tried it for a while, but I hated the hours.”

  He led her into the room, which turned out to be a suite. The living room held a sofa, a TV in a cabinet, a desk, and a couple of chairs. The bedroom beyond was big, with a king-size mattress. Both rooms faced west and had French doors that opened onto balconies. This being spring in Los Angeles, the late afternoon was plenty warm enough for the doors to be open. The sounds of traffic drifted up to them.

  “Very nice,” she said, glancing around. “Understated elegance. Are we ordering in or eating in the dining room?”

  He moved close and took her in his arms. “Whichever you’d like. I have champagne.”

  Of course he did. “Because no good seduction should be without champagne.”

  He walked into the bedroom. She followed and saw the freestanding ice bucket tucked beside the bed.

  “Very subtle,” she teased.

  He opened the bottle while she collected glasses from inside the armoire. After he poured, they toasted each other. She took a sip.

  Even though you could buy it at Costco, there was something decadent about drinking Dom Pérignon while it was still light out.

  “Nice,” she said, staring into his blue eyes and meaning more than the champagne. “Very nice. You’re spoiling me. I could get used to that.”

  “Good.”

  No. Not good. It was bad. Very bad. Getting used to his spoiling her meant getting used to him. And then she was on a slick highway to Broken Heart Town. Not a place she needed to be right now. Her life was supposed to be about new beginnings, not getting caught up in a relationship that had been a risk from the beginning.

  She wanted to say it wasn’t her fault. That her fantasies about David had predisposed her to falling for him, but the actual fall itself was because of who he’d turned out to be. Nice. Funny. Charming. Caring. How was she supposed to protect herself against that?

  “Let’s go enjoy our champagne,” he said, putting his hand on the small of her back and guiding her to the other room.

  “You don’t want to have sex with me?” she asked before she could stop herself.

  He laughed. “How come I didn’t find you years ago?”

  “You met me when I was still in high school. You weren’t interested.”

  They sat next to each other on the sofa. She angled toward him.

  “I was a fool,” he told her.

  She touched his glass with hers. “I’ll drink to that.” She studied his face, the perfect curve of his mouth and the light reflected in his blue eyes. “You want to talk about something.”

  “How do you know?”

  “You have talk-face.”

  She forced herself to smile when she really wanted to run. If she left before he could say anything, she wouldn’t be hurt. And right now not being hurt seemed like a damned good plan.

  “My mother came to see me,” he began.

  “Oh, God. Because of me.” She put her glass on the coffee table. “I should have said something. I was so angry, and I should have warned you. I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Excuse me? How can you not be sorry? I’m sure she’s furious. She’s going to come screaming for an explanation.” She held in a groan. “Which she already has, because that’s how you know.”

  “She came to the office this afternoon, wanting to know if it was true we were dating.”

  Jayne wanted to sink into the floor. “I totally screwed this up, huh? I’d offer to talk to her, but I don’t think that would help. Maybe if Rebecca got in touch with her or—”

  He pressed his fingers against her mouth. “Shh. It’s all good. I wanted her to know we’re going out.”

  “Why?”

  “So she’ll get off me about going out with someone else. You’re the one I’m seeing. You’re the one I want to keep seeing, Jayne. Why do you think I asked you to be my date to the party?”

  “But I…” She picked up her glass and took a big swallow.

  She told herself not to get too excited by the information. It didn’t mean that he was falling for her or that she was more than someone he was casually dating. If she read too much into his words, she would only get hurt more.

  “Okay,” she said cautiously. “But your mother is upset.”

  “So?” He leaned in and kissed her.

  “There’s going to be trouble.”

  “We can handle it.”

  Her heart fluttered. “I’m not sure you’re worth it,” she joked.

  “I am.” He touched her cheek. “I don’t expect you to do anything about my mother. I just wanted you to know that she’s not happy. Forewarned and all that. I can handle it, can you?”

  “I’ve been dealing with Elizabeth for years. I’m an expert.”

  “Good.” He set down his glass, then moved a stack of magazines on the table, revealing a large, flat, dark purple box with “Worden’s Jewelry” embossed in gold. “I have something for you.”

  If it had been a ring box, she probably would have had a heart attack and died right there on the sofa. As it was, she found it difficult to breathe, what with her entire body frozen. Frozen and trembling. Talk about a trick and a half.

  “You’re not like anyone I’ve ever met,” he said, holding out the box. “I want you to know that you’re important to me, and in my family, we say that with diamonds.”

  He waited. She stared at the box but made no move to reach for it.

  “You’re not going to open it?” he asked with a smile.

  “I’m not sure I can.”

  “Then allow me.”

  He turned the box so it was facing her, then raised the hinged lid. Inside on a bed of white satin sat a graduated diamond necklace. The diamonds went all the way around to the back, with the larger stones in front. The center stone had to be at least two carats. The perfect diamonds winked and sparkled in the afternoon light.

  She knew she was breathing. She could feel air moving in and out of her lungs. Even so, her chest felt tight, and her mind was amazingly blank.

  The necklace was possibly the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. “It’s much nicer than the one I stole,” she whispered.

  He laughed, then pulled it out of the box. “Let’s see how it looks on.”

  She put down her glass and scrambled to her feet. “I can’t. It’s too expensive. I don’t have a lifestyle to support that kind of thing, and even if I did… It’s lovely, David. I appreciate the gesture, but it’s too much.”

  He
rose and moved toward her. “If I owned a tire place, I’d bring you tires. This is what I do. Come on. At least see how it looks.”

  She held up both hands to protect herself. “No way. If I let you put that on me, I’ll be lost. I have to be strong and resist.”

  “Why?” The humor faded from his eyes. “Jayne, I’m falling for you. You’re my girl, and I want you to have this.”

  He couldn’t have persuaded her any other way. Four simple words. “I’m falling for you.” She didn’t know if he meant it or not, and she wasn’t sure what his definition of “falling” was, but she was unable to resist him.

  He came up and slipped the necklace around her neck. She held up her hair so he could fasten it, then together they moved into the large marble bathroom. He flipped on the light.

  She wore a sundress she’d bought at Kohl’s for thirty dollars and minimal makeup, and she really needed to consider highlights. But none of that mattered. While the necklace was a once-in-a-lifetime dream she would probably never take off, what captured her heart and wouldn’t let go was David staring at her as if… as if…

  As if she really were his girl.

  She turned in his arms and kissed him.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “It looks good on you.”

  “Being with you looks good on me.”

  “Jayne.”

  Then his mouth was on hers and nothing else mattered. As long as they could be together, touching, yearning, taking, and giving. Love swelled up inside of her. The words threatened to burst out, but she held them back. Saying she loved him was admitting too much. Not because he would ever use that against her, but because then she would have admitted the truth to herself. There was no going back from that.

  She might have David’s attention now, but for how long? Eventually he would realize she wasn’t a long-term relationship. That everyone knew he was going to marry the “right” sort of woman. Then he would break her heart. Better for both of them if she didn’t admit that what had once been a crush had grown into a life-changing love that she would carry with her forever.

  * * *

  Rebecca turned off the CD player. She’d just finished the second CD of Tony Robbins’s Get the Edge program and could already see how she was totally screwing up her life. She took plenty of time for herself, but not in a way that mattered. She wasn’t focused, didn’t have goals. She floated through life, thinking she was entitled, which left her with plenty of fawning but no fulfillment. Except for Jayne, she didn’t have friends. On the surface, she had it all, but underneath, she was totally empty and devoid of happiness.

  She poured herself a glass of wine, then walked to her laptop and turned it on. Maybe she could find some seminars to go to and be healed. Or try a meditation retreat.

  She felt on the brink of an important discovery. Having her father and David take care of Jonathan and Nigel had somehow freed her. The need for revenge had faded. She almost didn’t care that her mother was upset with her.

  While her laptop booted, she crossed to the kitchen table, where she’d started working on her ideas for the stainless steel jewelry. She’d been reading about the process, and while it was challenging, she knew her creations would be beautiful. To think she could bring happiness to millions of women just by making pretty jewelry. It was almost too much to take in.

  Her doorbell rang, followed by someone pounding on her front door. The rhythm was frantic, as if something was really wrong. She set down her wine and hurried to unfasten the lock.

  Big mistake. Elizabeth burst in.

  “You’re home,” her mother said. “I was afraid you’d be out, and I didn’t want to call first because you’d just leave. We have to talk.”

  Rebecca’s good mood bled away. “Hello, Mother.” There was a lot more she wanted to say—like ordering her out of her house. But now she was conscious of a greater good, of the universe moving all around her. She could afford to be gracious.

  Elizabeth picked up Rebecca’s glass of wine and drained it in a single gulp. “Your brother is sleeping with Jayne.”

  Rebecca breathed deeply and let a feeling of calm flow through her. “It’s all right. I know, and I think this is good for David. Jayne’s lovely. He’s back, having a little fling. She’s leaving town in a few weeks. It’s all right. I know it delays his finding the bride you’re so eager for, but you have to trust this will work out the way it’s supposed to.”

  Elizabeth glared at her. “Are you on drugs?”

  “No, I’m calm and focused. I’ve been practicing breathing. You should try it.”

  “I should have you committed. This isn’t a situation I can ignore, and neither can you. David isn’t just seeing Jayne. I think he’s in love with her.”

  Rebecca drew in another breath. David in love with Jayne? “You’re overreacting. He’s having fun, nothing more.”

  “I tried to talk to him.”

  Rebecca walked into the open kitchen and found another wineglass. “Big mistake. You’ll make him feel trapped. He’ll push back.”

  “He already did. He said that if I tried to come between them, he would turn his back on me. His own mother. He’s choosing Jayne over me. He’s in love with her. I don’t know if he’s realized it or not, but he is.”

  Hearing the words was like being plunged into an icy pool. At first Rebecca felt nothing. Then there were sharp, cold knives slicing her everywhere. She wanted to throw up, to scream, to protest to the universe that this couldn’t be happening!

  David in love with Jayne? Sweet, sensible, funny Jayne? Jayne was her friend. David couldn’t have her. Couldn’t. She wouldn’t allow it. It was impossible. Jayne already had Katie. If she had David, too, if they were together, what would happen to Rebecca? Who would love her best? Who would take care of her?

  “No,” she breathed, hanging on to the counter, half afraid she would pass out. “They can’t.”

  David had been there for her whenever she needed him. The same with Jayne. But if they had each other, they would be too busy. They would talk about her together, take each other’s side. She would be left alone, with nothing. No one.

  “You have to do something,” Elizabeth told her. “You have to stop this. Do you know what a disaster it would be if they got married?”

  Married? Together always? Forever shutting her out?

  “I won’t let them.”

  “Can you stop this?” Elizabeth asked.

  “I have to.” Rebecca had never been more certain of anything in her life. She straightened. The pain receded, but the panic remained. “I’ll go see him. Talk to him.”

  “He’s not going to listen.”

  “He’s my brother. He’ll listen.” She walked into the bedroom and picked up her purse.

  “You have to be delicate,” Elizabeth said, following her. “You have to say it the right way, or you’ll push them together.”

  “I know that.”

  “I should come with you.”

  “Because your last conversation with him went so well?” Rebecca asked, moving toward the door. “I’ll do it. I’ll make him understand this isn’t possible.”

  Then she was running down the stairs because the elevator would take too long.

  She got in her car and started the engine. Thoughts swirled in her head as she drove east on I-10, then exited and drove north to the Four Seasons. Traffic was a bitch, as usual, but she didn’t mind the delay. It gave her time to think.

  The knot in her stomach didn’t go away. No matter how she considered the problem, there was no good solution. David and Jayne together meant she was abandoned. They were the two people she loved most in the word—how could they do this to her?

  “I trusted you,” Rebecca whispered, wiping away tears. “I trusted you to be my friend.”

  She pulled into the hotel and gave the keys to the valet. “I won’t be very long,” she told him.

  He flashed her a smile. “I’ll have your car right here.”

  She n
odded and walked into the cool, elegant lobby.

  The elevators were to her left. She pushed the up button, then rode to the fifth floor and turned left again. When she was outside of David’s door, she knocked loudly.

  It opened seconds later. David, wearing jeans and nothing else, was already talking. “That didn’t take long. Are you sure those steaks are… Rebecca?”

  His hair was mussed, and he didn’t have shoes on. Those should have been clues. Later she would remind herself she hadn’t been thinking. Or maybe she had known exactly what she was doing.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” she snapped. “Dammit, you know better. Dating Jayne and sleeping with her is one thing, but falling for her? You fuck the help, David. You don’t marry them.”

  There was a sound. Not quite a gasp, but a sharp intake of breath. Rebecca looked past her brother and saw Jayne standing in the doorway to the bedroom. She wore David’s shirt, a diamond necklace, and nothing else. Her cheeks were red, as if she’d been slapped, her brown eyes wide.

  For the second time in a week, Rebecca felt shame.

  Jayne closed the bedroom door. David grabbed Rebecca’s arm and shook her.

  “What’s wrong with you?” he demanded. “How could you do that? She’s your best friend.”

  “Not anymore,” Rebecca whispered. “Not anymore.”

  Seventeen

  JAYNE SCRAMBLED TO GET into her clothes. There was something wrong—she couldn’t see very well. When she wiped her face, she felt dampness. From what? Tears? She couldn’t be crying. Not over anything to do with the Wordens.

  She pulled on her panties, then ripped off David’s shirt and grabbed her bra. There were voices coming from the living room, but she didn’t bother listening. Neither of them could say anything she wanted to hear.

  She knew this wasn’t David’s fault. His only sin was being a Worden. He had a biological connection to the insanity. But there was no way to separate him from them. No way to have one without the other. And as she’d teased earlier, he simply wasn’t worth it. Later, when breathing didn’t hurt so much, she would tell him.

  She stepped into her shoes, then tugged at the necklace around her throat. She couldn’t get the clasp to open at first. There was a sharp pain as she scratched herself, but finally it came free, then tumbled into her waiting hand.